There’s been a Blanca sighting in Storrs

[Molisanos]

Blanca first opened up to being recruited by US colleges in April 2023. UConn was on to her almost immediately, got her in for an early visit and she verbally committed to UConn just 6 months later in October of 2023, two full years before she will play her first game in Storrs.

The accelerated timeline is a bit unusual for international players. But it is a testimony to how well connected to international recruiting Geno and his coaching staff have become.

I don’t know if any other college actively pursued Blanca. Certainly she would have been directly in Jose/USF’s wheelhouse. But honestly, I think Geno pulled off a coup, getting a great player before anyone else knew she existed.

April 2024 and committed way before Geno's travel to Italy...

 

[BobbyJ]

Blanca first opened up to being recruited by US colleges in April 2023. UConn was on to her almost immediately, got her in for an early visit and she verbally committed to UConn just 6 months later in October of 2023, two full years before she will play her first game in Storrs.

The accelerated timeline is a bit unusual for international players. But it is a testimony to how well connected to international recruiting Geno and his coaching staff have become.

I don’t know if any other college actively pursued Blanca. Certainly she would have been directly in Jose/USF’s wheelhouse. But honestly, I think Geno pulled off a coup, getting a great player before anyone else knew she existed.

She had in the vicinity of 70 offers from all over the country.

 

[From Canada]

I did a little research into Blanca's experiences representing Ecuador. I have modified what is shown on Her UConn Roster bio page by adding the information in bold text. My source for all of it is the FIBA website.

"Competed for the Senior National Team at the 2022 South American Women’s Championship, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. She turned 16 halfway into the six day tournament, and was playing alongside teammates in their late twenties and early thirties… played at the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship as a twelve year-old, averaging 14.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In addition to ppg, she was the team leader in efficiency (13.8) and steals (3.8 pg). Her steals per game was the highest of all tournament players and her ppg average was third. … made her Ecuador Basketball debut at the 2018 South American U15 Women’s Championship, averaging 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and winning a silver medal as a young twelve year-old."

The season can't get here fast enough!

For statistics enthusiasts. Here is what I have gathered about Blanca in terms of FIBA competitions. As YKCornelius mentioned, she participated in the 2019 U16 Americas Championship when she was only 12 years old, and it was probably after this championship that Campobasso took an interest in her. Attached are her official statistics. She ranks third in PPG, and you will surely recognize other names you already know. You can click on her name for more details. Ecuador finished the tournament in fifth place, which was not enough to qualify for the U17 World Cup the following year. You will also find another attachment listing the other FIBA competitions. Please note that the height listed is from 2019. She is now 6'2", as shown in the attachment of all measurements (#46) taken at the BWB camp in the summer of 2024. For those wondering about her speed, she finished third among the 40 best international players invited, running 3/4 of the court in 3.35 seconds. One of the two who did better was 5'8" Australian Bonnie Deas, who was selected for the first all-star team at this summer's U19 World Championship. It should also be noted that the games at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp are only two 8-minute quarters. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in the UConn uniform.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Blanca Quiñonez (Ecuador) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball

Explore the career and performances of Blanca Quiñonez. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.

www.fiba.basketball

Competition Stats - FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship | FIBA Basketball Events

Discover detailed statistics of FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship - players leaders and games highs, teams leaders and game highs

www.fiba.basketball

https://cdn.flowpage.com/images/a4553ec2-0972-486a-8434-8f1fe657de9a-pdf?m=1721573121

 

[Bone Dog]

For statistics enthusiasts. Here is what I have gathered about Blanca in terms of FIBA competitions. As YKCornelius mentioned, she participated in the 2019 U16 Americas Championship when she was only 12 years old, and it was probably after this championship that Campobasso took an interest in her. Attached are her official statistics. She ranks third in PPG, and you will surely recognize other names you already know. You can click on her name for more details. Ecuador finished the tournament in fifth place, which was not enough to qualify for the U17 World Cup the following year. You will also find another attachment listing the other FIBA competitions. Please note that the height listed is from 2019. She is now 6'2", as shown in the attachment of all measurements (#46) taken at the BWB camp in the summer of 2024. For those wondering about her speed, she finished third among the 40 best international players invited, running 3/4 of the court in 3.35 seconds. One of the two who did better was 5'8" Australian Bonnie Deas, who was selected for the first all-star team at this summer's U19 World Championship. It should also be noted that the games at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp are only two 8-minute quarters. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in the UConn uniform.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Blanca Quiñonez (Ecuador) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball

Explore the career and performances of Blanca Quiñonez. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.

www.fiba.basketball

Competition Stats - FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship | FIBA Basketball Events

Discover detailed statistics of FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship - players leaders and games highs, teams leaders and game highs

www.fiba.basketball

https://cdn.flowpage.com/images/a4553ec2-0972-486a-8434-8f1fe657de9a-pdf?m=1721573121

Thanks for collecting this. It looks like the closest comparable for 12yo Blanca in these stats is 15yo Soni Citron, though Blanca got a lot more minutes. I expect playing time was hard to come by on Team USA.

 

[Bills Fan]

Sarah Strong’s first language was Spanish. They’ll be very good together.

We don't need two of our players speaking Spanish or any language other than English. They all need to be communicating with each other in one language. I'm sure that Blanca speaks Italian but I'm also sure that Geno will not be talking to her in Italian during practices or games.

 

[Bone Dog]

She had in the vicinity of 70 offers from all over the country.

Awesome video interview of Blanca. I just love listening to her voice. She just exudes confidence and maturity. My favorite line: "Between me and what I want there is no obstacle."

And if anyone is worried about her language skills, she is fluent in English. She modestly says her English skills need a little polishing. But this is a language she is perfectly comfortable speaking. Plus, she will have had to pass a TOEFL test (or equivalent) to satisfy the university.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Blanca first opened up to being recruited by US colleges in April 2023. UConn was on to her almost immediately, got her in for an early visit and she verbally committed to UConn just 6 months later in October of 2023, two full years before she will play her first game in Storrs.

The accelerated timeline is a bit unusual for international players. But it is a testimony to how well connected to international recruiting Geno and his coaching staff have become.

I don’t know if any other college actively pursued Blanca. Certainly she would have been directly in Jose/USF’s wheelhouse. But honestly, I think Geno pulled off a coup, getting a great player before anyone else knew she existed.

Per Molisanos’ post and also per this interview, Blanca was also very interested in Geno and UConn.

I am speculating that being Ecuador’s finest who dreams to be in the WNBA, her Ecuadorian coaches and her U.S. teammates in her Italian teams also helped her make sense of U.S. D1 basketball during the time of her recruitment. At the time, UConn was in the throes of its biblical injury plague and other programs were perhaps shinier.

The blurb (in Molisano’s post) about South Carolina is funny in a ha ha sort of way. Dawn (with Joyce who is apparently close to Sarah) tried to do the same thing with Sarah.

 

[WiseWillie]

For statistics enthusiasts. Here is what I have gathered about Blanca in terms of FIBA competitions. As YKCornelius mentioned, she participated in the 2019 U16 Americas Championship when she was only 12 years old, and it was probably after this championship that Campobasso took an interest in her. Attached are her official statistics. She ranks third in PPG, and you will surely recognize other names you already know. You can click on her name for more details. Ecuador finished the tournament in fifth place, which was not enough to qualify for the U17 World Cup the following year. You will also find another attachment listing the other FIBA competitions. Please note that the height listed is from 2019. She is now 6'2", as shown in the attachment of all measurements (#46) taken at the BWB camp in the summer of 2024. For those wondering about her speed, she finished third among the 40 best international players invited, running 3/4 of the court in 3.35 seconds. One of the two who did better was 5'8" Australian Bonnie Deas, who was selected for the first all-star team at this summer's U19 World Championship. It should also be noted that the games at the Basketball Without Borders Global camp are only two 8-minute quarters. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in the UConn uniform.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Blanca Quiñonez (Ecuador) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball

Explore the career and performances of Blanca Quiñonez. Access all stats, latest news, photos, videos and achievements.

www.fiba.basketball

Competition Stats - FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship | FIBA Basketball Events

Discover detailed statistics of FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship - players leaders and games highs, teams leaders and game highs

www.fiba.basketball

https://cdn.flowpage.com/images/a4553ec2-0972-486a-8434-8f1fe657de9a-pdf?m=1721573121

Thank you From Canada. Great stats. Blanca is so mature and motivated. She has the right mentality about having talent but knowing that talent isn't enough. It requires continual hard work to improve. Can see why Geno and the coaches high on her. With her obvious talent and positive attitude she is going to have a stellar UConn experience and pro career.

 

[cgshuskie]

The above is a great video for Blanca. It illustrates how positive her attitude is and that attitude is the elixar required for success. I believe in Blanca not only because of her great attitutude but because she has many, many talents in BBall. I'm certain the with Geno and Chris's teaching she will achieve greatness, including starting as a freshman. I hope her friendship with Sarah Strong will be a great one. Expect them both to surge in 2025 -2026 and beyond.

 

[From Canada]

Pictures?

Scroll through the photos. She appears in the third one—it should be noted that photos two and three must be linked—looking very serious with Sarah, Kayleigh, Caroline, and Kelis.

 

[Bone Dog]

Scroll through the photos. She appears in the third one—it should be noted that photos two and three must be linked—looking very serious with Sarah, Kayleigh, Caroline, and Kelis.

In photo 3, the Big Fish doesn’t look so big next to Blanca.

 

[FormerCTrez]

We don't need two of our players speaking Spanish or any language other than English. They all need to be communicating with each other in one language. I'm sure that Blanca speaks Italian but I'm also sure that Geno will not be talking to her in Italian during practices or games.

Oh, okay. However, @Bills Fan, in an effort to get a better understanding of your message, I re-read this post several times to see what you were trying to do here. And I realize that we’re trying to be funny, comical, humorous, etc., but it’s slightly dry, and therefore can, or may be interpreted wrongly.

PS: I just want to emphasize that diversity is not a bad thing, and understanding its meaning, allows us humans to co-exist. The English language is great, but it’s just one language that connects people. As you know, there are multiple other languages that do the same thing, so I am personally looking forward to reading about some of the behind-the-scene antics/interactions in whatever language the team shares with us fans! Lastly, I welcome Blanca to the team with open arms, and I sincerely admire her trilingual capabilities.

 

[Molisanos]

Oh, okay. However, @Bills Fan, in an effort to get a better understanding of your message, I re-read this post several times to see what you were trying to do here. And I realize that we’re trying to be funny, comical, humorous, etc., but it’s slightly dry, and therefore can, or may be interpreted wrongly.

PS: I just want to emphasize that diversity is not a bad thing, and understanding its meaning, allows us humans to co-exist. The English language is great, but it’s just one language that connects people. As you know, there are multiple other languages that do the same thing, so I am personally looking forward to reading about some of the behind-the-scene antics/interactions in whatever language the team shares with us fans! Lastly, I welcome Blanca to the team with open arms, and I sincerely admire

Kindness is the language that Blanca speaks most fluently...

 

[LwrcasefaN]

She has gears. Shifty.

 

[Bone Dog]

The English language is great, but it’s just one language that connects people. As you know, there are multiple other languages that do the same thing, so I am personally looking forward to reading about some of the behind-the-scene antics/interactions in whatever language the team shares with us fans! Lastly, I welcome Blanca to the team with open arms, and I sincerely admire her trilingual capabilities.

I completely agree. As a college prof I remember the consternation when the number of students from China and Korea rose dramatically in the early ‘00s. They’d always been present in the big universities, but now they were coming to smaller schools and wanted to study the humanities. Some colleagues felt oppressed. But I remember being thrilled by the opportunities it presented. There were a few glitches and growing pains initially, but the expansion of everyone’s awareness of the world was more than worth it. Now I look back and marvel at what it meant for our students, who were now introduced to the perspectives of kids from the other side of the world. Blanca and Gandy, and Lou and Nika and Dorka and Inês before them are and were amazing additions to the team culture. This is an important component of any education.

 

[Scud49]

In photo 3, the Big Fish doesn’t look so big next to Blanca.

AKA the "Big Gup-Gup" according to others in the know. 😀

 

[Alydar]

We don't need two of our players speaking Spanish or any language other than English. They all need to be communicating with each other in one language. I'm sure that Blanca speaks Italian but I'm also sure that Geno will not be talking to her in Italian during practices or games.

I'd wager that Italian will be spoken.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Oh, okay. However, @Bills Fan, in an effort to get a better understanding of your message, I re-read this post several times to see what you were trying to do here. And I realize that we’re trying to be funny, comical, humorous, etc., but it’s slightly dry, and therefore can, or may be interpreted wrongly.

PS: I just want to emphasize that diversity is not a bad thing, and understanding its meaning, allows us humans to co-exist. The English language is great, but it’s just one language that connects people. As you know, there are multiple other languages that do the same thing, so I am personally looking forward to reading about some of the behind-the-scene antics/interactions in whatever language the team shares with us fans! Lastly, I welcome Blanca to the team with open arms, and I sincerely admire her trilingual capabilities.

In a loud gym, sign language works well, head fakes, using eyes, knowing your teammates, doing the video analysis of the opponents, being engaged... Just like all the other GREAT UConn women's BB teams under Geno, CD & Co.... 😍 😍 😍

 

[veivoli]

I'd wager that Italian will be spoken.

Didn't Nika curse the refs out in Croatian?